Protect Yourself from Remote Support Scams

Remote Support lets a person you trust see and control your computer to help you. Scammers abuse remote control tools like this one. They contact you, pretend to be technical support, your bank or an investment adviser, and ask you to install the program and read them your ID and password. Once connected, they can see everything on your screen, open your bank account and install other programs.

If in doubt, hang up. A real company will never be upset that you checked.

This page also applies if the program shows another company’s name: some companies distribute Remote Support under their own brand.

Common scams

Fake technical support

A pop-up says your computer is infected, or someone calls claiming to be from Microsoft, Apple, your internet provider or “Windows support”. They say your computer has a virus or has been hacked, and offer to fix it.

Fake bank or security department

A caller says they are from your bank’s fraud team and that your account is under attack. They ask you to install Remote Support to “secure” your account, then to log in to your bank so they can “move your money to a safe account”.

Refund scam

A caller says you were charged by mistake, for example for a subscription renewal, and offers a refund. During the session, they claim they refunded too much and ask you to send the difference back by bank transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Investment and money recovery

Someone promises high returns on an investment, often in cryptocurrency, or offers to recover money you lost in an earlier scam. They ask to connect to your computer to “open your account” or “unlock your funds”.

Online romance or friendship

A person you met online asks for help with a payment, or offers to help you, and needs access to your computer.

Warning signs

• Someone contacted you first and asked you to install a program.
• The caller is in a hurry or scares you: your account will be closed, the police will come, you will lose your money.
• You are asked not to hang up, not to tell your family or not to call your bank.
• You are asked to log in to your bank or a payment account while they are connected.
• You are asked to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency or a transfer to an account you do not know.
• Your screen goes black, or a message asks you to wait while “work is in progress”. The person may be hiding what they are doing.
• You are asked to enable unattended access, so they can “check your computer later”.

When Remote Support is safe to use

Remote Support is safe when you started the contact:

• You called the IT department of your company, your IT provider or a software vendor you already work with, using a phone number you found yourself, for example on an invoice, a contract or their official website.
• You know the person who is helping you.

If you think you are being scammed right now

1. Close Remote Support. On Windows, closing the chat window also ends the session. If a message asks you to confirm, choose to close.
2. If you cannot close it, cut the internet connection : unplug the network cable, turn off Wi-Fi, or turn off the computer.
3. Hang up , and do not answer if they call back.
4. Do not log in to your bank or any other account on this computer until it has been checked.

After a scam

Act quickly, even if you are not sure.

1. Call your bank using the number on the back of your card or on its official website, never a number given by the caller. Ask them to block the payments and transfers you did not make.
2. Change your passwords from another device you trust: your email first, then your bank, then your other important accounts. Turn on two-factor authentication where possible.
3. Disable unattended access if it was enabled: open Remote Support, go to the Unattended tab and click Disable Unattended Access . See Enable Unattended Access .
4. Remove the programs you did not install yourself , including other remote control programs the scammer may have added. On Android, also open Settings > Accessibility and turn off any service you do not recognize.
5. Have your computer checked by a professional you trust, or run a full antivirus scan.
6. Report the scam to the police or to your national fraud reporting service, for example:
   • United States: reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov
   • Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
   • France: cybermalveillance.gouv.fr
   • Australia: Scamwatch
7. Report it to TSplus , as described below.

Report a scam to TSplus

Contact TSplus and give us:

• The Remote Support ID shown on your screen (9 digits) and the approximate date and time of the session.
• The name, phone number, email address or website used by the scammer.
• What happened, in a few words.

Your report helps us identify and block the accounts used by scammers. TSplus cannot recover lost money or cancel payments: only your bank and the police can act on that.

Help protect your relatives

Older people and people who are not comfortable with computers are frequent targets. Share the two simple rules with them, and tell them they can always hang up and call you first.